Container



Patented Aug. 2 7, 1946 UNITED STATES PATENT oFFIcE` v 2,406.56@ l n Y CONTAINER i c Y n Harry Sebell, Marblehead, Mass. Application March 5, 19,45, Serial No. 581,086

. This inventionl relates to containers and particularly to containers of that type having a body of glass or similar vitreous material and ametal sealing closure by which the container is closed and sealed,.which closure is so constructed that when the container is opened, the cover element will remain hinged to the container so that it can be repeatedly opened and closed again.

One of the objects of my present invention is to provide a container of this general type in which the metal closure member comprises a band element which encircles the upper end of the container and is provided at its upper edge with an outwardly extending sealin-gange and also comprises a cap element formed with a skirt which encircles the upper end of the container above the sealing flange of the. band member and which is provided at its lower edge with an outwardly extending sealing flange which mates that of the band member, said sealing flange being clamped together by -means of a U-shaped sealing strip which embraces bothlanges.

A furtherobject of the invention is to provide a sealing closure of this type which is' so constructed thatr when the sealing strip is removed for opening the container, the cover elementwill remain hinged to the container so that it can be repeatedly swung from closed to open position and Aback again.

Other objects of the invention are to provide an improved sealing means for glass containers which will be more fully hereinafter set forth and pointed out in the appended claims.

In the drawings wherein I have illustrated some Vselected embodiments of my invention,

Fig. 1 is a vertical sectional view through a container embodying theinvention.

Fig. 2 is a plan view showing the blank from which the cap element is formed.

Fig. 3 isa perspective view of the cap element lafter it has ,been formed and is ready for assembling With the band element, a part of the cap being Abroken out to better illustrate the construction. c

Fig. 4 is a top plan view of the sealed container. Fig. 5 is a sectional view similar to Fig. 1 but showing a different embodiment of the invention;

Fig. 6 is a top plan view of Fig. 5. Fig. '7 is a fragmentary perspective view of one end of the U-shaped sealing strip shown in Figs. 1 to 4.

, Fig. 8 is arfragmentary perspective view of one end ofr the sealing strip shown in Figs. 5 and'.

In thedrawings I-flndicates a container which mayjbe made of glass or someother vitreous material` and which is shown as provided with .the neck portion 2, and with an exterior downwardly facing shoulder 3,V The outer surface 4 of the neck 2 between the top edge and the shoulder 3 is slightlyr'tapering, said surface being slightly [smaller at the top edge than at the shoulder.,

' rected sealing' flange lThe metal sealing'closure for the container f comprises a cap element 6, a band elementi-and a sealingstrip, shown at 8 in Figs. 1 to'4.

"The band element 1 encircles the portion of Ythe neck 2 immediately above the shoulder 3, said Aband tightly fitting such exterior surface., The

lower edge 9 of the band element is bent inwardly under theshoulder `3, and the upper edge `of the bandrv element is bent to present an outwardly diaround the band. c

'I'he vertical dimension of theband 1 is such that the sealing flange Il)V isl located below the top edgek of the container. 'f v j vThe cap element I,whichy is madeof lsheetmetal, is formedat its kperiplnary with a skirt portion I I which encircles the exterior surface of the neck 2 aboveV thesealing flange IIIV of the band 1, the lower edge `ofthe skirtII being bent outwardly'to lform asecond sealing flange I2 which mates that of the-band 1. .The cap element 6 has integral therewith a hinge-forming tab I3Which is anchored tothe band Ln In the construction shown this is accomplished by reason of the fact that the tab is clamped between the band and the exterior surface 4 .of the neck Zas best shown inligl.`

The cap element Bis. also preferably formed on its underside with an annular groove I4 which registers with-the top edge of the containerandm is adapted to receive a packing gasket or sealing compound I5 forthe purpose of making a tight Y joint.

The U-shaped sealing strip 8 tightly embraces the two sealing flanges I0 Vand I2 and serves to hold the cap element tightly sealed.

The capelement 6 may be made from a blank such as shown at 6' in Fig. .2, this blank compris- When the cap member has been pressedjinto vshape' the tab I3 will extenddownwardly as shown I0, which extends clear in Fig. 3. YThe edge portion |1 of the blank is.v

ing flanges and firmly clamped thereon by apply- Y. ing pressure to the top and bottom sides of saidv strip, thereby forming a closure unit comprising the cap element, the band element and thesealpreferably made of a somewhat larger diameter' than the sealing flange Ill on the band, so that the peripheral edge ofthe sealing ange I2 projects outwardly beyond the peripheral edge of the sealing flange Ill. The advantage of this construction is that after the sealing strip hasv been removed the projecting edge of the sealing flange I2 can be readily grasped to apply the necessary lifting force on the cap element to loosen it from the container and swing it into its open position.

In Figs. 5, 6, and 8 there is shownk a *slightlyY dierent embodiment of the inventionin which Y Vthe sealing strip has ar tab at oneend which over` ing strip. If desired, the tab I3 may be spotwelded or soldered to the band. ,Such-closure; unit will be formedcompletely before it is applied to thecontainer, and during the operation'of assembling the band element and the capelement, the lower edge 9 of the band element will be in line with the walls thereof. f VThe sealing compound I5 may be deposited in the groove I4 either before the cap element and the band element are united to form the closure unit or after such unit is formed.

` After` the closure unit has thus been completed, then it will be applied to the container by forcing the band portion I thereof and the skirt portion I I down over the neck 2 of the container, thereby1 to seat the sealing compound I5 rmly against *the top edge of the container. The band member I Vwill preferably be initially madey with a diameter to tthe exterior diameter of the neck 2 at its top edge,'and as the closure unit is forced downwardly 4into its sealingposition, the lower portion of the band element will be expanded slightly by the increasing diameter of the neck at its lower-end,rthereby the band will be rmly clamped to the neck. f i f After the closure unit has thus been assembled "with and applied tother container, then the lower :edge 9 of the band memberA will be crimped in Vunder theshoulder 3va s shown in Fig. 1.

VWhen the container is to be opened,` the sealing lies the opposite end of the strip and is soldered p or welded thereto.

In this embodiment, the cap element 6 has the I same construction as that shown in Figs. 1 to.3

but the band element 1 is made with a sealing ange that has a much greater vertical dimension or 'thickness' than the sealing flange Il of Fig; 1. Iii-Fig. 5 for instance the upper end 'of the band TI is bent outwardly and then downwardly to make a sealing rib IIIV and the sealing strip 8.VA is considerably wider than the sealing strip 8 used in Fig. 1. This sealing strip 8 has its vupper. edge 2| embracing the sealing flange i2 of the cap element, and its lower edge 22 fits under and embracesthe sealing rib I0' on the band The wide sealing strip 8 is formed at Vone end 2d with a tab 23 which overlies the other 'i end 25 ofthe sealing strip as shown best in Fig. 5. The tab 23 may be soldered or welded to the -end 25 of said strip, thereby holdingthe sealing Y strip, and as soon as this is done, said strip can 'strip 8' is removed'and as soon as thisv has been I l done, the cap element may be lifted from the top of the container yand swung into an open position as indicated by dotted-1ines,.Fig. 1. The band member will still remain firmly clamped to the neck 2 of the container after the sealing strip 8 has been removed, thereby forming a rman- -chorage for the tab-forming hinge I3. The ta"- pering shape of the neck will prevent the band element' 'I from slipping downwardly after' the strip has been removed and the inturned lower edge 9 of the band prevents it from moving upwardly; and therefore, the tab I3 will remain rmly anchored to the container after the sealing strip has been removed. l

When the container has been initially opened, the cap element IiA may be swung back into its closed Yposition with the skirt II fitting around the upper end of the neck 2, thereby providing a tight closure for the container.

In Aorder to facilitate Vthe removal of the strip, I have shown in Figs. 4 and 77a Ycon'structionin whichthe upper edge of the strip is cut away at wat one end, thereby making it possiblevto insert the endV of a screw driver or some other implement behind the edge I9 for the purpose of pryingv'th'e end 20 of the strip loose. As soon astsaid4 end has Vbeen loosened, then the vstrip can be readily removed.

f vThe sealing' iiangel I2 on the vcap element is be readily removed from thefsealing flanges. This operation of breaking thetab 23 loose from the end y25 of the sealing strip will require only about ione-turn ofthe key, as distinguished from the multiplicity of turns of the key required to re-l .move the tear strip of a tear-strip container.

In the construction shown in Fig. 1, the upper edge of the sealing strip 8 maybe bent around or behind the beadltV on the sealing flange I2, Y

retaining it firmly in position.

-I claim:v

1. A container comprising a container body thereby locking the sealing strip to the flange and lhaving an open top, thereby forminga top edge t0 said body, said body being provided with an rexterior downwardly facing shoulder below said overlies the exterior ofthe container body andv Y is clamped Vbetween said body and said! band g member, said skirt 4of the cap Ymember' being pro. k

vided at its lower edge with an outwardly'dire'cted sealing-ange'that mates the sealing flange of the band member, and a U-shaped sealing strip embracing the two sealing anges and holding them tightly clamped together.

2. A container comprising. a container body having an open top, thereby forming a top edge to the container body, said body being provided with an exterior downwardly facing shoulder below said top edge, and a closure for the open top comprising a cap member and a band member, said band member encircling the upper portion of the body and having its lower end bent inwardly underneath said shoulder and also having atits upper edge an outwardly directed sealing ange which is located below the top edge of the container body, said cap member being formed with a peripheral skirt portion which encloses the upper portion of the container body above the sealing flange of the band member and having extending therefrom a hinge-forming tab which is anchored to said band member, said skirt portion of the cap member being provided at its lower edge with an outwardly directed sealing iiange that mates the sealing flange of the band member, and a U-shaped sealing strip embracing the two sealing flanges and holding them tightly clamped together.

3. A container as in claim 2, in which the sealing flange of the cap member has a larger diameter than that of the band member, whereby in lifting the cap member from closed. position the projecting peripheral edge of the sealing flange thereon may be readily grasped.

4. A container as in claim 2, in which one end of the U-shaped sealing strip has a projecting 1 tab which overlies the other end of said strip and is united thereto.

5. A container as in claim 2, in which the U- shaped sealing strip at one end thereof is cut away on its upper side to provide a shoulder adapted to be engaged by an implement for disengaging said end of the sealing strip from the sealing flanges when the container is to be opened.

' HARRY SEBELL. 

